Alexei Popyrin vs Nuno Borges Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Five-set marathon on the cards in third round?

The only Australian man left standing in the draw, Popyrin will be hoping to replicate his run to the US Open fourth round last year, where he secured that famous win over Novak Djokovic along the way. Borges meanwhile is part of a Portuguese surge at this year's Roland Garros - together with qualifier Henrique Rocha, they are the first men from the country in history to make a Grand Slam third round at the same time.

Borges produced an insane level to claim his maiden top 10 victory over Casper Ruud in the previous round, striking a whopping 51 winners to just 21 unforced errors. Yes, Ruud might have been carrying a small injury, but Borges was playing unstoppable tennis and probably would have won anyway. Popyrin meanwhile has benefitted from a soft draw, facing an injured Yoshihito Nishioka (who retired) and a terribly out-of-form Alejandro Tabilo. I think this is looming as a close contest that could easily go the distance, but for me, Borges holds the value as the underdog - especially with his commanding record of winning 28 of his last 40 matches that have gone to a deciding set.

This will be the first tour-level meeting between the pair after they split victories at Futures and Challenger matches.

Popyrin comes into this clash with a negative 10-11 record on the season.

The Aussie really struggled to open the year, perhaps finding it tough to deal with the increased pressure and expectation following his tremendous back-end of 2024, which saw him capture a maiden Masters 1000 title in Canada and beat Djokovic at the US Open.

Eight of Popyrin's 10 wins have come during the clay swing, including a nice run to the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals, where he also defeated Ruud.

After making the Geneva quarter-finals last year, Popyrin as advanced into the Roland Garros third round for the first time by moving past Nishioka and Tabilo without dropping a set.

Borges heads into this showdown with a 18-14 record on the season and 10 spots below his career-high ranking of No. 30.

The Portuguese has done a tremendous job of establishing himself as a top 40 player over the last 12 months, highlighted by winning his one and only ATP title on the clay of Bastad, conquering Rafael Nadal along the way.

The 28-year-old, who is a product of the US college system, has made the fourth round of the Australian and US Opens in previous years and will now be targeting a similar result in Paris.

Borges was a five-set winner over local hope Kyrian Jacquet in the opening round, improving his incredible deciding-set record on tour to 29-12, before registering his first ever top 10 win over Ruud in the second round, prevailing 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 with a stunning 51 winners.